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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23475049">The Moment Between Silences</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slynx/pseuds/Slynx'>Slynx</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Overwatch (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, soft old men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 07:00:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,601</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23475049</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slynx/pseuds/Slynx</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A birthday fic for Apostapal!</p><p>Trouble finds Reaper while he helps Sombra escape from Talon. Along the way back to safe ground, they run into several familiar faces...including a certain estranged husband of one Gabriel Reyes.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>142</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Moment Between Silences</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/apostapal/gifts">apostapal</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sombra just <em>had</em> to kick the hornet's nest while it was down, didn't she?</p><p>Reaper staggered, snarling as the report of his shotgun pounded back another wave of red-helmeted lackies. One rushed him before there was a chance to reload, the shadowed mercenary rolling his eyes behind his mask before chucking the empty gun at the idiot's face, the red helmet cracking as the goon was sent flying backwards in a heap. Wraithing off before any more of the Talon soldiers got any bright ideas, Reaper settled against the side of the doorway into the hangar. A clawed finger jammed into his ear, eyes flicking from side to side to see when the back-up would arrive.</p><p>"I swear to God, Sombra, if you don't have <em>good news-</em>"</p><p>"Yeah, see-" the sound cut out, sounding almost garbled. That wasn't a great sign. "Good news is I've found a ship I like. Couldn't pick a color I liked."</p><p>"They're all grey." Reaper deadpanned, hardlight shotgun respawning in hand. The single set of sprinting footsteps stopped dead as the ensuing blast knocked the first new Talon grunt to the ground. "What's the delay?"</p><p>"Bad news-" that sounded like choking. "Gravity guy liked this color too."</p><p>Oh. Shit. <em>Sigma.</em></p><p>Reaper cursed and disappeared in a stream of nanites into the hangar, speeding along at breakneck speed until he caught the blur of purple he'd been searching for. Re-forming, he quickly had to duck to miss becoming the next member of Talon's 'rock and roll' club. …Damnit. Jack wasn't even here and the bad jokes just kept- </p><p>A hypersphere blast knocked him off his feet, nanites cushioning his fall and re-adjusting his form to stand in front of Sombra, who was fortunately breathing. An actual miracle, given the situation. "What the hell did you do to piss him off?!" Reaper snarled, squaring off with guns raised at the floating behemoth, the red helmet cracked down one side and revealing a craggy, maddened eye, debris floating menacingly behind the extended arms, fingers curling upward-</p><p>"He wouldn't move! So I hacked the thing on his chest-"</p><p>"You hacked the thing helping him keep in control." Shit. They were dealing with the other Sigma? Double shit. At least the scientist was predictable.</p><p>"Yeah. He kinda snapped?" Sombra rose to her feet, dusting some of the dirt off her front and failing at hiding a wince. Granted, she looked good for having received an execution order from the High Council twenty minutes prior, but the situation could be better.</p><p>"Get the ship going." Reaper hissed, watching as Sigma began floating closer, the debris slamming together and grinding menacingly in a ball of metal and stone above them all. "I'll hold him."</p><p>"Gabe-"</p><p>"Don't you <em>Gabe</em> me!" The rock conglomerate shot forward, Reaper barely able to blast it to dusty pieces before it reached them. "MOVE!"</p><p>The pieces halted before they could hit the ground, shifting into a shield that shot past them both- what was he doing? Sigma had been on orders to guard the hangar in case Sombra attempted an escape, Reaper remembered suddenly, and- he was protecting the ship. Which meant-</p><p>With a snap-second teleport, Reaper flung himself backwards and shoved Sombra clear, the hacker just beyond the glowing shield. She landed with a faint 'oomph' on the dropship's ramp, eyes going wide as she realized what he'd done.</p><p>He knew. Oh, he knew. This was going to hurt.</p><p>
  <em>"The universe sings for me!"</em>
</p><p>Reaper had seen what Sigma could do. He had, however, never allowed himself to experience it firsthand. But as he found himself floating a good twenty feet off the ground, he knew if he could just brace for the impact, it might not be too bad. Just had to keep-</p><p>Ah shit. Back-up had arrived.</p><p>The gravity flux locked his nanites in place, Reaper forced to hang mid-air while the new squad of Talon soldiers lifted their rifles and turned him into Swiss cheese. Bullets ripped through his torso, leg, shoulder- and then the air dropped from under him. It would have been bad enough if the damn man had dropped him over the concrete floor of the hangar but <em>noooo</em>, apparently the cargo crates set to the side was better. Something in his arm crunched nastily, his ribs snapping as he hit the edge of the containers chest-first, crumpling to a heap after in a panting, bloody mess. Oh, Sombra owed him big time for this.</p><p>Engines firing caught his ear, the former Talon High Council member raising his good arm only long enough to flip off the lot of red helmets before forcing his body to dissolve, nanites streaming inside the dropship. They reformed long enough for him to hit the deck of the cargo hold, a familiar purple figure above him that he grinned at through bloody teeth. "What took you so long?" He could hear footsteps getting closer. Damnit.</p><p>"Holy shit, Gabe. You're- you-"</p><p>"Don't waste it." He shifted in an attempt to lever himself up, motion halting halfway up as he let his body collapse back down to the weirdly wet floor. What was this thing transporting earlier? Ugh- "Get us out of here."</p><p>---</p><p>From there, time seemed to stop and start. The ship managed to get into the air for a while, that much was clear. He'd slid into a bulkhead in the middle of some sort of evasive move, yelping in pain as his arm bent in a way he hadn't felt in years. At some point later, the vehicle was down. Then up. Then down. The hours were liquid, his body partially shutting down as it attempted to self-heal. Unfortunately, it was currently doing a shit job. </p><p>The reason for Sombra's constant movements of the ship became clear on the third landing, her presence accompanied by a vaguely familiar one. Who-?</p><p>"When you said he was in bad shape, I'd still expected him to be alive." The accent was difficult to place, but clicked once a blurry shape focused not far from his mask.</p><p>"Jean-Bapti-tiste Augustin." Reaper slurred. "The runner."</p><p><em>"Kou lan guet!"</em> The figure reeled back and out of focus. The exclamation sounded half shocked, half impressed. "I'll be damned." The face leaned back down, a low whistle filling the cargo hold. "When they said you were unkillable, I'd always considered it a joke."</p><p>"Not a very funny one." He couldn't feel his arm. "Be glad they never sent me- sent me after you." </p><p>A laugh echoed above, Sombra's familiar snort angling in from the side…somewhere. Damn. Did he have a concussion?</p><p>"I'll count myself lucky." Baptiste rummaged through something beside him, the ship rumbling beneath them. Wait, Sombra was taking off again? Was the runner coming with them? Why?</p><p>A blast of gold lit up his sight, something easing in Reaper's chest as the pain rushed back in. Just before the room swirled back out of view, he found himself fixating on the eyepiece on Baptiste's face. Was that-? "Jack-"</p><p>The floor swallowed him whole.</p><p>---</p><p>"-got us a landing at the base. He's sure he can talk Winston into letting us stay."</p><p>"Hope so. Might be out of options otherwise."</p><p>"Don't remind me." A sigh. The floor vibrated. Autopilot? Who was driving? The air smelled like iron. "Maybe you're gonna have to use your connections too."</p><p>"I hope Doctor Ziegler will be happy to see me."</p><p>"Ha. Yeah, me too."</p><p>---</p><p>Too bright. Too bright-</p><p>"-hands in the air! Come out slowly-"</p><p>"-needs immediate medical care! Don't have time for this bullshit."</p><p>---</p><p>Blue. Everything was blue. It pulsed, tugging at his eyelids to crack open further. Heyyy…he knew that face.</p><p>"Echo?" Mina- oh, he could see Mina in those eyes-</p><p>"Commander Reyes. Can you hear me?"</p><p>"-'vn't heard that name in long…time." Reaper swallowed, his following chuckle both pained and thick. "Y'look good, kid."</p><p>Echo smiled. "You look like shit."</p><p>Reaper couldn't help it. He cackled, black spotting his sight before it took him again. Oh, Mina had to be rolling in her grave. McCree had done so well-</p><p>---</p><p>"-not sure why he isn't stabilizing. Traditional medical care doesn't seem to do much for his condition."</p><p>"I can confirm that biotics do little to help his biology." Oh, he knew that voice. "His body will heal on its own, but traditional care should hold him together until it can."</p><p>"Still wouldn't say no to some fuckin' morphine, Ziegler." Reaper rasped faintly.</p><p>He got a good look at blonde hair before a finger wagged in his face, the shape registering long after it left his field of vision. "You're on enough pain medication to down four elephants, Reyes. If I gave you more, there's a chance your heart would give out before-"</p><p>…Well. This was just getting convenient now, Reaper thought blurrily as the sound ebbed out and he ducked back under.</p><p>---</p><p>By the time he could hold consciousness for any period of time, Reaper knew an inordinate amount of time had to have passed. Dipping in and out of the time stream gave him partial answers. Sombra and Baptiste were regular visitors. They clearly weren't prisoners, which was good news. Others came by, Echo and Ziegler notable stand-outs. He could have sworn that he'd heard Ana Amari for a moment….</p><p>But the most constant sensation he'd felt upon half-waking each time was pressure wrapped around the hand of his good arm. It was even there now as he pulled himself up and out of the darkness, rough yet smooth, just the right amount of warmth. He could have sworn that he'd felt it move a few times, rubbing over the back of his hand in slow circles-</p><p>Reaper came to, blinking dazedly in the fluorescent lights that flickered above. He savored the first deep breath in that he could remember taking since before Sombra's abrupt exit, near-tasting the air on his tongue. A blue quilt lay tucked around his form, medical machinery beeping and humming happily on one side, a hard-plastic cast spider-webbing over his forearm on the same side. Hm. Well, that explained the crunching. At least they'd managed to get the bone set.</p><p>On the other side, his arm lay above the sheets and his hand was holding something. Was that a- wait. He wasn't holding something. Something was holding <em>him</em>. A hand was wrapped in his, weathered skin tickling something in the back of his skull. Red eyes followed the hand up to an arm, a torso bent over the bed, and a white-haired head cushioned up against Reaper's side, faint muffled snores vibrating through the sheets.</p><p>
  <em>Jack?</em>
</p><p>It had to be a dream. Yeah. A dream from a bygone time. Gabriel's breath hitched, injured arm raising to settle on his bandaged front, fingers shakily threading through the familiar hair and nudging the spike in the back-</p><p>Oh. This hurt more than he thought it would. He swallowed roughly, teeth gritting. This couldn't be real. He would never get this again. Not with what he'd-</p><p>The snoring eased, a hum taking its place. The figure (not Jack) stretched almost casually beside him, hand squeezing his slightly. Gabriel savored every familiar movement. Just had to hang onto this a little longer before he had to go back to reality. He'd wake up on the floor of the dropship's cargo hold any second now.</p><p>It was when he attempted to shift his casted arm away from the white hair that reality decided it was done waiting for him. Pain lanced upwards, Reaper's head snapping back into the pillow behind him with a hiss, the bone feeling nearly mended but the muscle still very much out of sorts. Pain, he remembered with a start, was not present in dreams. The mercenary jerked, brain coming back online in spurts as he attempted to process the situation.</p><p>At that exact moment, it dawned on him that he couldn't feel his mask on his face.</p><p>---</p><p>The shriek knocked him awake faster than any cup of coffee ever could. Jack Morrison startled back, eyes wide. Was that-?!</p><p>Gabe was awake.</p><p>Gabe…was panicking.</p><p>"Shhhh sh sh-" Jack leaned back in, squeezing his husband's hand in a slow pulse. "Hey. Hey, look at me."</p><p>A slurred panic stream of 'nonononono' had him reaching in further, cupping Gabriel's jaw and easing the face his way. "If you don't look at me, how are you going to count how many times I blink in the next minute?"</p><p>It was an old trick of Gabriel's own design, one that they'd used on each other for years. It forced the brain into a logical pattern, allowing panic and anxiety attacks to lessen. Now, Jack pulled it out again in hopes of getting through. "Count for me. I'll count yours too."</p><p>One moment turned into two, two to three. At that point, Jack could tell that it was beginning to work. Gabriel's breathing evened and he swore he heard something along the lines of 'that's my line'. Jack huffed a laugh, thumb smoothing a path along Gabe's cheekbone.</p><p>When Gabriel had been brought in, it seemed like he'd left most of his blood on the damn dropship. It had been good that Sombra had thought to get Baptiste on the way. Winston had been adamant against letting them in, but for once Jack hadn't backed down. The scientist had acquiesed moments in, Ana teasing for using his 'Strike Commander' voice'. It didn't matter so long as it worked, Jack had fiercely argued back. Gabriel was in trouble. They needed to be let on the base. They ALL needed to be let onto the base.</p><p>It had been worth it. It had all been worth it.</p><p>---</p><p>45…46….47….</p><p>Damnit. It was just as effective as it always had been. Gabriel's breath hitched again, eyes closing. Jack wasn't pushing him away, despite <em>everything</em>. The truth of Reaper's role within Talon hadn't even been revealed yet (unless Sombra had tattled on him, which…okay, that was plausible) and Jack still was set by his side. For better or for worse, right? God, and Jack could see his face-</p><p>Warmth blossomed above, eyes flying open to find Jack's forehead pressed to his. Their noses nuzzled gently, hand squeezing his.</p><p>"If you could do anything you wanted to-" the gravelly voice was a godsend and a curse, sending a line of goosebumps up his spine. "What would you do if you were free to do anything without limitations?"</p><p>It was another distraction to bring him out of his own head. But the very real fact that Jack was here forced Gabriel to show his hand much earlier than he'd expected.</p><p>"I'd do just about anything for this to not be a hallucination." He muttered, eyes locking on familiar blue. "No. Anything."</p><p>The world stopped for only a moment. Then, Jack surged forward and- and those rough lips were on his- </p><p>A half-sob left Gabe's throat, leaning in. Their first kiss in almost a decade. God, it was even better than he'd remembered. …This couldn't possibly be real. Jack would never accept him back so easily, would never- he'd never-</p><p>"I never stopped looking for you." Jack murmured into his mouth, pulling in even closer, a hand carding through Gabriel's hair. Lips brushed over his jaw, his neck- "Knew something was up. Knew you'd never join Talon on a whim after everything they'd done."</p><p>Sombra <em>had</em> spilled the beans! That little- the thought was cut short as Jack's lips closed on his again. That meant….Jack knew. Jack knew and- and didn't care? Didn't care about what he'd done to do what he'd done, didn't- he'd- no.</p><p>Gabriel pulled back, staring. Of course Jack knew. It didn't explain the closeness, as if the years apart hadn't happened.</p><p>As per usual, his husband got into his head before he could decipher it all himself.</p><p>"Gabe." A hand ran up the side of his face, brushing along the deep, necrotic scars- how could Jack stand to touch him? How-</p><p>"Gabe. Hey." Jack leaned their foreheads in again, holding gaze. "It's okay. I've got you. You're safe at Gibraltar."</p><p>He'd already known all of those things, damnit. Jack, however, didn't relent. His fingers slid up along his temple and into his hair-</p><p>"How can you touch me?" It finally was out there in the open, Gabriel's teeth grinding from the pain resonating from the words. "How can you even stand to- to be around me?"</p><p>Silence dropped between them. Reaper looked away, eyes closing. Jack would leave now, surely. There was only so much a relationship could take. Why couldn't he just let it be? They'd kissed- they'd- there had been something to salvage but he'd had to go and ruin it-</p><p>"Gabriel Reyes."</p><p>What?</p><p>"No matter what happens, you'll always be my Gabe." Fingers carded through the top of his undercut, hand squeezing his down below. "I don't think I could stop loving you if I tried."</p><p>…<em>Loving</em> him?</p><p>Something inside cracked. Gabriel looked back up to stare down Jack's honest expression. He was telling the truth. He was- he still loved-?</p><p>Gabe broke. A sob shoved its way out, another taking its place moments later and another and another. The bed dipped beneath him, arms easing around and holding like he was made of glass, rocking oh-so-carefully. And Gabe…let it happen. For once, he was safe. He was safe and this was safe and Jack was- Jack was here. He could afford to be vulnerable for the first time in…in…he didn't know. He didn't <em>know</em>.</p><p>---</p><p>Angela came in a few minutes later. Gabe had quieted a bit, nestled against his chest and solidly encased within his arms, but his face was pressed in so close Jack swore the man was close to suffocating. It had taken a lot out of him, Jack could tell, and it boiled his blood to realize how much Gabriel had sacrificed to get onto the High Council, to maintain his cover for all this time-</p><p>"This will only take a moment." The doctor's voice nearly made him jump, Jack forcing himself to breathe. Angela's visor was on, scanning over the form by his side- oh. She wasn't going to make Gabriel get up. That was damn decent of her.</p><p>"Despite his injuries, he's doing well." The Swiss woman sighed and lifted the headgear off of herself. "I'd feared the worst when the machines spiked."</p><p>…Ah. Of <em>course</em> they would have picked up Gabriel's distress. "I think…it's going to take a while before he's fully adjusted to being here." Jack answered quietly.</p><p>"Some good rest would help you both." Both? Hey! Angela met his indignant look with a well-sculpted eyebrow rise. "Don't think I can't see that luggage under your eyes, Jack Morrison. Go sleep and take him with you."</p><p>Take him with- did that mean-? "You're discharging him?"</p><p>"He'll heal much better if he's in an area he can trust with someone at his side that he trusts." Gabriel Reyes had escaped her medical bay too many times and ended up in the Strike Commander's room too many times for her to seriously consider keeping one here while she sent the other away. "Go on. I don't want to see either of you up and out until you're both fully rested."</p><p>---</p><p>At first, it felt like Sigma all over again. Reaper woke with a half-start as he bobbed in midair-</p><p>-only to realize that there was a warm shoulder below his head, arms wrapped firmly around his legs and chest. The light above dimmed, a door clicking shut- and it was when he was set down that Gabriel realized what was happening. He'd drifted off at some point apparently. Jack had carried him out of the medbay and- where was he going? Quickly, he reached out and snagged the back of the multi-colored leather jacket with one hand. </p><p>"Stay?"</p><p>Emotions flickered over Jack's face too quickly to decipher. A moment later, his decision was clear as he shed his outerwear, turned, and slid under the covers with him. Covers? Bed. Jack's? …At this point, he didn't care.</p><p>The past laid between them like a blockade. Despite it all, Gabriel took a leap of faith and reached out for Jack again, almost unbelieving as he cupped the familiar jaw and kissed him again. Jack kissed him back without pause, hands sliding up his side, barely a space between them- but Gabe found himself wincing back with a hiss, ribs caught in a painful tango of nearly-mended bones and bruised internal organs.</p><p>Wordlessly, they began to relearn boundaries. The skin below Jack's eye twitched when fingers skated too close to the scars on his face. Gabriel shuddered when a hand strayed for too long on the metallic implants arching up his spine. It was in the moment between silences that he came to a set of concurrent conclusions. This was real. They were here.</p><p>This was happening.</p><p>They'd fucked up. They'd lashed out. But…they were still here. THEY WERE STILL HERE. And they…they still….</p><p>"I still love you too." He broke the silence only long enough to murmur it, then tucked himself back up under Jack's chin. He felt his husband shudder beside him, arm squeezing around his middle (a safe place from the injuries) as kisses pressed into his hair. They curled into each other, breath slowly syncing. Hands found each other's, fingers locking lazily above the sheets.</p><p>The rest of the world could wait. They'd found each other again and that…that was all that really mattered.</p>
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